Stocks in early struggle
Wall Street seesaws a day after 4-session gain streak ends.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were mixed Tuesday morning as better-than-expected reports on housing and inflation were tempered by weakness in bank stocks and Alcoa, which slashed its dividend.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 35 points, or 0.5%, 20 minutes into the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) index slipped 3 points, or 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 3 points, or 0.2%.
On Monday, stocks snapped a four-session winning streak. The Dow lost 7 points, the S&P was down 0.4% and the Nasdaq fell nearly 2% as tech stocks faltered.
Global markets on Tuesday were mixed. In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index surged 3.2%. The European markets were lower in midday trading.
Economy: The government reported that housing starts jumped 22% in February to an annual rate of 583,000, from a revised 477,000 the prior month. The soundly beat the expected 450,000 starts, according to a consensus of economist opinion from Briefing.com.
Building permits rose 3% in February to 547,000, the government said. The economists surveyed by Briefing had expected them to drop to a 500,000 annual rate from 531,000 in January.
The Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of wholesale inflation, edged up 0.1% in February. The PPI was forecast to have risen 0.4% in February, according to the Briefing.com consensus, after rising 0.8% in the previous month.
The so-called core PPI, which strips volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% after climbing 0.4% in the previous month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected a gain of 0.1%.
The Fed's policy-making body begins a two-day meeting. It's expected to hold interest rates steady near zero percent, and determine the best ways to help kick the economy out of the recession.
Companies: The aluminum company Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) said it slashed its dividend by 82% on Monday, in an effort to reduce costs by $2.4 billion annually. This includes the ongoing plan to cut 13,500 jobs by the end of the year. Alcoa shares were down 10% in early trading.
Retailer Target (TGT, Fortune 500) is facing a proxy fight, as shareholder William Ackerman is pushing to nominate five board seats. Target shares rose 3% in morning trading.
Oil and money: Oil prices rose 20 cents a barrel to $47.55. The dollar rose versus the euro, the British pound and the yen. 
